Olympic silver medalist Ben Whittaker sustained a blemish on his record following a six-round technical draw against Liam Cameron on the Beterbiev-Bivol undercard in Riyadh on Saturday. Both fighters were awarded a 58-57 card, but the deciding vote was 58-58.
WATCH: Ben Whittaker vs. Liam Cameron live on DAZN
Whittaker and Cameron were exchanging towards the end of round five when the latter marched his opponent backwards. Unfortunately, the ropes weren’t tight enough to hold the weight and both men fell over the top rope and crashed onto the ring apron. Whittaker claimed to have injured his right ankle and left the arena in a wheelchair.
The 28-year-old Whittaker was being put to the test for the first time in his professional career and could easily have come out of this fight with a loss. The British star looked flat, neglected his habitual showboating style and was caught cleanly several times.
The jab worked for Whittaker in the early part of the fight, but Cameron did not fear his opponent’s power. He marched forward, picked off blows on his gloves and released effective shots to head and body. Whittaker’s speed and superior athleticism kept him in the argument, but he was very uncomfortable from rounds two through six.
"I can't get a fair shake," Cameron told DAZN. "It was a close loss last time [to Lyndon Arthur] and now this. The kid was knackered and I won this fight."
The ending was very unfortunate as this was developing into an interesting fight. Cameron, a former Commonwealth middleweight champion, was criminally underrated by everyone coming in.
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